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May 15, 2026Nature Communications5 citationsOpen Access

Biomolecular Condensates as Protein Degradation Tools for Intracellular Targets

YLY LiZJZhicheng JinSASharif U. Ahmed

Key Points

  • The central aim is to develop a method for phenotype-specific protein degradation using biomolecular condensates.
  • Developed antibody-enriched biomolecular condensates through liquid–liquid phase separation.
  • Included a proteasome-targeting motif for enhanced degradation capabilities.
  • Tested the effects of these condensates on oncogenic KRAS G12V in heterozygous cells.
  • Condensates selectively degraded oncogenic KRAS G12V while sparing wild-type KRAS.
  • Demonstrated suppression of tumor growth in a KRAS G12V xenograft model.
  • Provided an adaptable platform for intracellular degradation without genetic modification.

Abstract

Targeted protein degradation harnesses endogenous cellular machinery to eliminate disease-causing proteins, yet achieving phenotype-specific degradation across diverse cell types remains challenging. Here we show that antibody-enriched biomolecular condensates formed by liquid–liquid phase separation function as intracellular protein degradation tools, combining cytosolic trafficking with direct proteasome recruitment for targeted substrate clearance. These nanoscale condensates incorporate a short proteasome-targeting motif into phase-separation precursors, preserve antibody activity, enable direct proteasome recruitment, and improve delivery uniformity. When loaded with a mutation-specific antibody, these condensates selectively degrade oncogenic KRAS G12V without affecting wild-type KRAS in heterozygous cells, and suppress tumor growth in a KRAS G12V xenograft model. This strategy provides a modular platform for intracellular protein degradation that can be readily adapted by exchanging antibodies, without requiring genetic modification of cellular system. Targeted protein degradation has huge potential, but phenotype-specific degradation remains a difficulty. Here, a phase-separation biomolecular condensates as an intracellular degradation agent is developed, combining antibody-guided recognition with direct proteasome recruitment to enable phenotype-selective protein clearance.

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Cite This Study

Li et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a06b940e7dec685947abd0ehttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72967-8
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